Amponsah: Fans forced our hand with Zerbo

Seydou Zerbo

Thursday May 11, 2023. 13:00

Asante Kotoko CEO Nana Yaw Amponsah has revealed that the club’s supporters played a big role in their decision to sack Seydou Zerbo as head coach in March.

Zerbo was relieved of his duties at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in the wake of a 2-0 home defeat to Medeama, which left the Porcupine Warriors well off the pace in the title race.

The Burkinabe tactician was appointed on a two-year deal in the off-season to replace Prosper Nartey Ogum, who resigned after winning the Ghana Premier League last term.

Zerbo made a promising start to his tenure, picking up five wins in his opening 10 matches but a poor run of results in the new year saw the club’s fans turn on him.

Amponsah insists the board had little choice but to act after learning that a group of supporters had planned to attack the 59-year-old.

“We as management wanted Seydou Zerbo to stay as the head coach of the club but we picked an intel that he will be attacked by the fans and we did not want that to happen because this has happened in the club before,” he said.

“When we engaged him, he also confirmed that the Burkina Faso Embassy here in Ghana have also informed him that this is the information they received.

“Even before we sacked him, we still had the chance to win the Premier League title and if you bring in a new coach, we were not sure if he would make that impact we want but we had no option but to sack him.”

Fortunes have not improved under Abdulai Gazale, who has won just two of his eight games at the helm, leaving the Kumasi giants eight points adrift of league leaders Aduana Stars with four matches left to play.